As time flew by, the shackles of infancy fell away, granting Mat freedom and enough distractions to fill his every waking hour twice over.
No one expected anything from him, he was only a child. Having to worry about having fun all day may get boring eventually, a point he was far from reaching.
His long list of unanswered questions wasn’t forgotten, there was simply no one to protest if he took his time.
In his previous life, his childhood had been cut short when he got diagnosed with a heart condition that put his life on a timer. He couldn’t remember when he started floating along, like a passenger to his own life. It happened long before he died, that much he was certain.
Then he got a second chance. Mat—more precisely Kai—was born. And without realizing it, he fell into his old habits.
It was time to fully take advantage of his second chance at life and stop looking from afar.
Waking up to the smell of the sea, enjoying the sun and waves, running around Yatol with a group of children that shared his passion for exploration. The last part hadn’t been planned. He was minding his own business when the other children joined one by one.
At first, he thought it would be annoying to have a bunch of brats in tow. He tried to ignore them, hoping they would get bored and go away. That worked most of the time, except some pests were more persistent than others.
Ana was the beginning of the fall. A little girl with an apple-shaped face, big green eyes and cascading dark brown hair like most people in the archipelago. She was adorable and naive, like only someone who solely knows the sweetest side of life could be.
If she demanded his attention or made fun of him like other kids, she would have been easy to ignore. Instead, she asked if he would play with her with those big eyes of hers, and his fate was sealed. His mind could not conceive saying no to her.
It was all downhill from there. Before he realized, he had a small following. Who could say no to those round chubby faces? He didn’t have the heart to deny them such a perfect role model.
After he took advantage of his innocent child card against his parents, it was truly karma to be defeated by the same blade.
Babysitting a clutch of little ducklings had not been in his plans, but their cheerfulness almost made up for the headaches they caused him. Kai never got tired of their looks of pure wonder when they discovered something new.
He liked his family, they just didn’t know the whole him. There was no one to freely talk to. With his little band of misfits, he could do or say anything, and no one would question it. Besides laughing at his antics.
Thus, he resigned to his new role. He never thought he would feel so carefree and happy in his life.
Kai made sure the entrance to their secret meeting place was clear. A wall of lush bushes hid a small clearing from the main path, forming a C-shape against a camp of critterbane.
The insidious plants made sure no one approached from that side. Kai didn’t know its scientific name—if it had any—but the thorny bramble with urticant properties was grown around important plantations by farmers to keep critters at bay.
It wasn’t dangerous to humans, if you considered a week-long burning itch not dangerous that is. One way or another they had all suffered it. When you told a child to stay away from something, somehow it never worked.
Making sure no one was looking his way, Kai walked to their super-secret entrance. He pushed aside a few strategically positioned branches and squeezed through a small opening in the tall shrubbery.
The clearing was no more than five meters across and not much longer. There were better places, but nothing could beat the feeling of accessing a secret corner of the world that was only theirs.
Two of the four members of his fearsome band were already present, sitting on some logs which had been brought here at no small cost.
Ana, being one year older than him, was the second youngest of the bunch. She was showing her collection of seashells and conchs to Lou, who silently listened to her ramblings and rearranged them by color and shape.
Lou had a hard time interacting with other people, and Kai could relate to his awkwardness, having always been the odd one out in his previous life. Unfortunately, no one could be as mean as innocent kids. Even if they may not realize they were acting like jerks, a child’s words stung the same.
Quiet and calm, he was the easiest kid to have around. Kai was forever thankful for him. With him, there was no need to talk and no awkward silences.
He joined his companions in admiring the new additions to Ana’s collection. If they were back on Earth, these shells would have belonged in a museum or an art installation. They had a thousand shades of reds, blues, yellows and purples, and an even more diverse range of forms.
Every time Kai thought he had seen them all, a new seashell was pushed to shore by the waves or revealed by the tide. The fact half of them were as big as his head had become so ordinary, he hardly noticed anymore. He focused on admiring the spiraling shapes and patterns.
Poorly suppressed laughter announced the arrival of the last two members of the group. The twins, Uli and Oli, emerged from the bush, chuckling.
Their curiosity and mischievousness were only matched by their inexhaustible energy. They were seemingly unable to stay still for more than five seconds.
For all the time he had known Lou and Ana, they hadn’t exasperated him a tenth of what the twins did in a day. No matter how many times he wanted to strangle them, he couldn’t stay angry at them.
“What are we waiting for? Can we go now?” Uli said, or at least Kai thought it was Uli. They wore different braided bracelets, but they switched them so often Kai had long given up trying to tell who was who.
“Kai, you promised to show us the ruins!” Oli continued.
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He indeed made the unforgivable mistake of mentioning that his father had shown him some of the ruins left by the Vastaire civilization. The group pestered him for weeks till he promised to take them there.
The Vastaire were the original inhabitants of the Baquaire Archipelago. Rellan hadn’t told him much apart from what little was known about them. They disappeared around 8000 years ago, leaving behind several scattered ruins around the islands. It wasn’t even known if they were a distinct sapient race or a subgroup of another known race.
The human migration to these islands ‘only’ happened around 800 years ago. Apparently, any stretch of time shorter than a millennium wasn’t considered much.
The current inhabitants of the archipelago were probably on the losing side in one of the wars on the continent of Talthen, seeking to build a peaceful life on a land most considered worthless. That was until 51 years prior, the Merian Republic decided to magnanimously annex the archipelago. When the Republic arrived with an army there had not been much of a discussion.
For better or worse, the thin mana of the archipelago only produced natural resources of little value. The presence of the Republic only consisted of the governor in Higharbor and not much changed since.
To stop the twins from pestering him, Kai decided to get going. It wasn’t a coincidence he chose today. His mother told him there was going to be a particularly long low tide.
The shallow water around the shore retreated for miles creating a vast stretch of white beach. It was ideal for traveling along the coast. This way they could avoid a three-hour-long trek on a dirty path and cut the journey to two hours.
Kai remembered the first time he walked up to the sea and found a completely different landscape. The crystalline waters were pulled back to reveal a white expanse filled with wonders.
Crabs and other crustaceans skittered here and there, hiding in seaweed fields and hunting for stranded fish. They were in turn all hunted by seabirds who came to take part in the feast.
Countless seashells of all shapes and sizes laid around like spots of colors on a white canvas. You could easily pick them up, but some of them ran away when you got too close, reminding you they were the homes of tiny inhabitants.
His eyes raced between all the wonders demanding his attention. And they had not yet gotten to his favorite part. The seabed was mostly flat, with deeper areas here and there. During a low tide, they transformed into small biomes full of life. They housed all sorts of sea creatures that thought swimming back and forth was too much of a hassle. It was like treasure hunting in an aquarium. He never knew what kind of fish or mollusk he would find next.
Low tides weren’t rare, but only once every few weeks did it happen to this extent. Kai still rememb—
“How much longer?” Oli asked no more than five minutes since they started walking. Kai had been clear on the length of the journey.
“Look at that.” He dodged the question and assumed an expression of awe, pointing to a bright ruby crab peacefully skittering a few meters from them.
“Where!” The twins’ heads turned in unison, scanning the sand for their prey. Hopefully, they would start a hunt for the most funny-looking crab or something. Anything to have them off his back.
Sorry, little crab, it’s you or me.
Noticing the two devils reaching for it, the poor creature showed it wasn’t completely powerless and dashed to the nearest pond, leaving the twins in the dust.
“Are we there yet?” Uli asked three minutes later.
Kai silently cursed his fate. This was going to be a long journey.
* * *
Two hours and much, much patience later, they reached their destination. A small cluster of ivory towers rose by the shore. Each building was a single piece of stone with no seams—a typical feature of magical construction according to his father—and small pentagonal holes dotting their walls. They were once doors and windows, now left empty.
Their height and width varied a lot. Rellan told him they were all connected underground. It was uncertain if they had always been like that or sank into the ground with time.
The highest tower stood against the sky like a small skyscraper. He was used to buildings twice that size, but his companions were another story. Their little jaws dropped in awe, the biggest building they had ever seen was the two-story house of the elder of Whiteshore.
The ivory towers stood like the bones of a colossal beast stripped of all flesh and color, leaving only an empty husk. It was a melancholic view; they must have looked even more impressive in their prime.
Kai felt some sort of sadness for what had been lost, and also admiration. After millennia they were still standing smooth and unblemished. It was hard to imagine all the history they had seen.
Time had left its mark. The empty pentagonal holes of the doors and windows were the most obvious sign, though not the only one. Upon closer inspection, there were regular gaps and dents where components of less durable materials had once been affixed. On the inside, it only became more obvious. Only the ivory stone remained as pristine as the day when it had been created.
The elements weren’t the only thing responsible for their current state. There were traces indicating plundering that took place long ago, before his mother’s ancestors ever reached these shores. The only valuable things remaining were the writings etched on the walls his father studied.
The twins had already raced ahead to explore the ruins, hopefully they would be able to not kill themselves trying to climb the towers. Thinking again, Kai ran after them.
“Uli, Oli, slow down!”
The two scoundrels acted as if they couldn’t hear him. Seeing it was a lost cause, Kai turned to Lou and Ana, who were dutifully following him and looking around with wide eyes. At least they listened half the time.
He was starting to explain what he knew about the place when a group of unknown voices picked up in the distance.
A loud boom rocked the ground.
The twins ran back to him even faster than before.
“What was that! You said no one was here.”
Ana grabbed his arm for comfort, looking around as if expecting some unseen beast to pounce on them. Even Lou took a step closer.
After making sure everyone was fine, Kai shifted closer to find out what was going on. Walking beyond the first row of towers, a shocking sight greeted him. Half a dozen buildings that had stood for eight millennia were laying on the ground in pieces, people busing over them moving chunks of rock.
“Stop right there! This area is off limits, go play somewhere else.”
Kai was so shocked, he hadn’t realized a middle-aged man in black attire had walked in front of him, barring the way. He cast a sneer at them and his chin was held up as if he couldn’t bear to look their way. He gestured for them to scram as if swatting a bug.
To say Kai was annoyed beyond measure was an understatement.
“What the hell are you doing?”
The man looked at him with annoyance like observing a particularly persistent fly.
“We’re obviously clearing these buildings. How no one on this island thought to use this perfectly good stone for something useful is beyond me. I suppose you can’t expect much from…” He looked directly at them that time, as if that explained everything.
“We can both free this beach and get raw materials at the same time. Soon we’ll put this stone to good use.”
He gestured around as if he could already see it. “The new villas will be the pride of this island, hopefully they will also attract some respectable citizens. The Seven know you need it.”
Kai’s mind had gone blank. “Are you destroying a piece of history to build some dumb villas?” His voice came out shriller than he intended.
He didn’t even see the blow coming, a moment later he was on the ground holding his face, not sure if anything was broken.
His friends were stunned in place.
The man was already returning to his crew, but they could hear him mutter, “The gall of these savages. They can’t even teach their brood to respect their betters. The Republic brought them civilization and they don’t even thank us.”
Kai laid still on the ground. Ana started crying while Lou said something to him. Kai didn’t notice, he remained frozen in place, his heart pounding in his chest. A myriad of thoughts and emotions fought for his attention.
He was angry, confused and humiliated. The anger won, his rage numbing even the pain. Furious at that idiotic moron and at himself for being a powerless child. He felt the urge to do something, to act, scream and break something, possibly that asshole.
It took a moment for reality to reaffirm itself. A harsh but undeniable realization – there was nothing he could do.
Becoming aware that Ana was crying and the twins panicking, Kai pulled himself together. They were his duty. He needed to make sure he led them back home safely. His face hurt and swelled more with each second passing, but he ignored it.
“I’m fine, don’t worry. Let’s go back home.”